Pretty Ugly
by Tsukiyomi Suki-chan
Summary: Amu, who has tangled hair, thick rimmed glasses and crooked teeth suddenly turns pretty. But her life is totally different. She has her crush since middle school as a boyfriend but her best friend hates her? What just happened?
1. PROLOGUE

**Hey, Suki-chan here. Well, I got bored and I had always been thinking of doing this. But this is just the prologue and just like the other two new ones –Neko Secrets and In a love Debt- it will take a while for me to update, unless there's a big request on it… so here's the prologue for Pretty Ugly.**

Prologue

_You're so ugly!_

_I don't wanna be your friend!_

_Go away! You don't deserve to talk to me!_

Little Amu cried. She sat at the swing alone. She was ugly. Her thick rimmed glasses, her messy, tangled hair which would never be straight even as hard as she brushed. Her crooked teeth made her smile break all the mirrors. Everyone didn't like her because of her ugliness.

Everyone but one.

"Amu, don't cry." The blue haired boy comforted her. She looked up.

"I-Ikuto nii-chan! They don't like me!" Amu sobbed.

Ikuto stroke her hair. He shook his head. "I like you." He smiled and that made Amu smile too.

He was the only one who never pushed her aside when she talked to him, the only one who made her laugh, causing her to forget that her teeth were crooked but she didn't care. She was happy.

_KRIING!_

"Kyaa!" Amu falls out of her bed. She knocks her head on the hard floor.

"Ow…" she muttered. Her sister, Ami woke up. "Morning." Ami greeted. "Ah…" Amu grunted, getting up from the floor.

Ami was the total opposite of Amu. She was beautiful. Long, wavy brown hair, full lips with super straight and white teeth. In school, everyone admired her.

As for Amu… well, the older she got, the uglier she became. Now, she was wearing even thicker glasses and also braces.

"Morning." She greeted to her parents when she went down to have breakfast. A cheerful Ami too came down with a big smile.

"Mama, I'm not going to be home today, so don't make dinner for me, kay?" Ami said.

Her mother nodded. "Okay honey."

Amu never say anything. She didn't have anything to say anyway. No one ever asked her out. No one talked to her.

No one but Ikuto.

Amu smiled. The thought of Ikuto made her feel cheerful. Monday is always filled with fun when there's Ikuto.

Since young, Ikuto had been her best friend. And he never hated her, not even once.

"Ikuto-kun! Why are you with that ugly beast?" Some girls would ask, filled with pure jealousy.

"Amu is pretty. You're the beast." He would reply and bring her away.

Ikuto always made her feel wanted. And that's what made her want to see him so much.

"Nee-chan? Whatcha smiling at?" Ami asks.

"H-Huh?" Amu asks, dazed.

"Must be Ikuto-kun right?" Her mother teased.

Amu blushed. "I-I'm finished! Thanks for the food!"

"I'm leaving now!" Amu shuts the door and leaves her house. She sighs.

Sure, her parents loved her. But not as much as Ami.

"Wow, you have such a beautiful daughter!" others would compliment them. But Amu… Amu always stayed away so that they won't be embarrassed.

Everyone always judged by her appearance. She didn't like it. They all ignore her because she's ugly.

Everyone but Ikuto.

"Ikuto…" she mumbled.

"Is my Amu thinking about me?" a husky voice from behind said. She felt someone hug her from behind.

"I-Ikuto!" Amu turned around and smiled when she saw her best friend.

"Yo. How's my little Amu?" he asks, cuddling her. Amu laughs.

"I'm fine." then a frown on her face.

"What's wrong?" Ikuto asks, worried about the frown.

Amu shook her head, but that frown remained there. "Nothing… it's just…"

"Ami's friend invited me to her party."

"That's great!" Ikuto said. She smiles a little then frowns again.

"But she hasn't seen me before. I don't want to go." Amu says, sighing.

"Why not?" he asks. She remains silent for a while.

Ikuto understands. "Idiot. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll enjoy you being there."

Amu shakes her head. "How would you know? If I go, I might embarrass Ami-chan!" Amu yells.

"How would you know if you never try?" Ikuto asks.

"Because I know!" Amu yelled again.

They were silent for awhile. Amu panted. Then, she looked down.

"I know… I know what they'll say if I'm there. Everything will go wrong, no one will enjoy themselves, they'll only gossip. How is she suppose to face her friends?" Amu asks, in a softer tone.

Ikuto doesn't answer. He just hugs her tightly. "It doesn't matter what others say. It's what you think about yourself." And he kisses her hair gently. Amu blushes.

"I-Ikuto, what are you doing?" she asks.

He smiles. "Comforting you. You know… if there's no one who's gonna marry you next time, lemme be the one."

Amu reddens even more. "What the hell are you talking about?" she walks faster.

He laughs. "Hey, wait up."

**-PRETTY UGLY-**

Amu looks at the blonde haired boy. He was Hotori Tadase, her –since middle school- crush.

Amu drooled looking at him. "So handsome…"

Ikuto looks at her, then looks behind his shoulders. He scowls.

"Here we go again with Hinamori Amu and her crush, Hotori Tadase." He rolls his eyes.

"Ikuto, don't be so mean!" Amu scolds him. He rolls his eyes again.

"Amu… I don't know what you see in him." he says, but she doesn't answer. She was too busy looking at the boy.

"Tadase-kun…"

**-PRETTY UGLY-**

"Go tell him then."

"No! Are you mad?"

Ikuto shrugged. He told her to confess to Tadase but she was too embarrassed.

"Just write a letter. Make it an anonymous one." He advises.

"Anonymous letter? So romantic!" her eyes twinkled. Ikuto sighs.

"All you have to do is just leave it under the table and when he reads it… well, you might feel a little better after confessing."

Amu nods. "Thanks Ikuto." but Ikuto was leaving.

"Hey, where are you going?" Amu asks.

He looks from his shoulder. "Home." And walks off.

"B-But Ikuto!" he doesn't stop. He continues walking and waves her goodbye.

"How mean…" she says. Then she smiled. He's been very supportive. That's good enough for her.

**-PRETTY UGLY-**

_Tadase-kun,_

_I'm not going to tell you my name, but I just want you to know, I have had feelings for you since I was in middle school. It was love at first sight._

_I love your blonde hair, those beautiful eyes, your voice. I like everything about you._

_I just wanted to say… I love you._

_From,_

_Your secret admirer._

Amu kisses the letter for luck and leaves it on Tadase's desk. She quickly runs out. But before she made it to the stairs, she heard voices. A boy and a girl. The boy's voice was familiar. It was…

"Tadase-kun?" Amu quickly hides.

"Tadase, you know what I heard?" the girl's voice, unmistakably belonged to Yamabuki Saaya.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"That ugly Amu likes you." She snorts. Amu's heart thumped. Now, he was going to say something about her.

"Eh? Really?" he asks. Amu's heart raced faster.

"I don't really care. Don't even know who the hell she is."

Amu's heart shattered.

"And she's ugly. I prefer pretty girls." A smirk.

Amu ran out of the school, running home.

As she reached home, she said, "I'm home," with tears and ran up to her room. She locked the door and sobbed.

"Why? Why? Why do everyone judge me by the appearance? Why?" she cried and cried. Heartbroken, she cried herself to sleep.

"I wish I was beautiful…"

Her phone vibrated. There was a text by Ikuto.

'Amu, it's okay if he rejected you. You still have me. I love you."

In Amu's dream… everything was orange and sparkling.

"Wh-What?" Amu asks herself, looking around.

Suddenly, a small girl came. "Hi, Amu-chan."

"Who are you?" Amu asks. This small girl was just like a fairy.

"I'm Dia, your Shugo Chara."

"Shugo Chara?" Amu asked.

"A Shugo Chara is someone who helps you in finding yourself. I see that you want to be beautiful." Dia said.

Amu nodded. "I want to know how it feels like to be beautiful."

Dia smiles. "I can help you with that. I can grant you any wish you want."

Amu's eyes widened. "Really?"

Dia nods. "But I must warn you… it won't be like anything you wish for. You'll only be beautiful but some things will change. And also, you'll lose that one person most important to you."

"Huh? You mean, that person won't exist?" Amu asks. Dia shakes her head.

"You'll know. Are you sure, you want to be beautiful?" she asks.

Amu thought about it. Losing that one person most important to you to be beautiful…

Amu lifts her head up. "I… I'll do it."

Dia smiles. "Okay then."

"When you wake up, you'll find everything different, but remember, if you want everything to be back to normal, you have to learn a lesson."

"A lesson? What kind of lesson?" Amu asks.

"You'll see." Dia winks. Then, she blows a spark to Amu.

"E-Eh?"

**-PRETTY UGLY-**

"Amu-chan, wake up."

Amu opens her eyes. She touched herself.

"Ah, it must be a dream last night." She gets up and walks out. She passes the dressing table with a mirror.

Suddenly, she stops and goes back to the mirror. Another person was staring at her.

Bubblegum pink hair as usual but it isn't the normal tangled one. It was… straight? A little wavy but much neater then usual. Her golden eyes were big and wide. Her teeth? No more braces. Just straight, white ones.

"Eh?" she touches herself again.

She closes her eyes then opens. The same person stared at her.

"EHHHH?"

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: What's going on?

Amu ran down the stairs. She was still in pyjamas.

"Mama! Papa!" she yelled, facing her parents.

They turned round and smiled. "Yes, honey?" her Mama asked.

"Do I look any different?" she asks. Her parents look at each other.

"Erm, yeah." Her parents nervously.

"Really?" a gush of relief washed through her body.

"Yes. Your hair is much straighter then before. Other that that, all the same." Her Papa said, rolling his eyes.

"Huh?" everything stopped moving. She looked at the pictures and gasped. Was that her? The beautiful girl in that picture. Was it really her?

She looked at the mirror, for the 100th time. She still couldn't believe that was her. Last night, everything was true?

Dia, was she real?

She looked at the time. It was almost time for school.

"Well, I need to head for school now." She quietly went up to change.

Her parents looked at each other, then sighed. "And I thought she was going to kill us." her papa said. Mama nods.

**-PRETTY UGLY-**

Amu tied her hair into how she normally wanted it to be. (Her usual hairstyle) Now that she had long hair which doesn't tangle by itself, she could tie her hair in any ways she wanted.

The first person she wanted to see was Ikuto, her best friend. As Dia had said, the person most important to her may be missing. So, it may be Ikuto or also Tadase. Both the boys were important to her.

Then, she saw a blue haired guy walking. It was Ikuto. He was right in front of her eyes.

She was just about to run to him and yell, "Ikuto!" until someone pulled her.

"Hey beautiful." He said.

Amu blushed. That voice, it was…

"Ta-Tadase-kun?" she asks, blushing. So he wasn't missing either. That means, she hadn't lost anyone!

But something surprised her. Tadase kissed her. Her cheeks reddened even more. She pushed him aside.

"Wh-Ta-Tadase-kun, what are you…" she covered her lips. Tadase looked at her, confused.

"Why? We're a couple, remember?" he asks.

"_We're a couple."_

"_A couple."_

"_Couple."_

"Ehhhh?" Amu yelled, her hands by both sides of her cheeks.

"W-We're a couple? Really?" Amu asked, she couldn't believe her luck.

"It will not be like what you wished for." Dia's voice echoed in her.

This was more than what she wished for!

"Are you okay? Are you not feeling well?" he asks, putting a hand over her forehead.

Amu blushes. "Y-Yeah. I mean no. I mean…"

"You're weird today." Tadase says.

An arrow stabbed her heart. "Eh, no… it's just I had a bad hair day."

Yeah, right. Her hair was beautiful and perfect.

"Well, don't worry. Looks good on you." Tadase smiles and touches her. She blushes. The bell rings.

"Looks like we need to go again." He says and waves at her. She waves back. Inside her heart, it was jumping up and down a trampoline.

Then she remembered Ikuto. But he was in a different class so she had to wait till lunch break.

**-PRETTY UGLY-**

Amu wasn't used to the way people stared at her. Usually, they didn't even look at her. Now, whenever she just enters a room, everyone just looks and whisper. Most of them said, "I am so jealous of her."

Lunch break was worst. She couldn't eat quietly because everyone was talking about her as well. So loudly, thinking that if the cafeteria was noisy, she wouldn't be able to hear.

She couldn't find Ikuto as well.

"Where is he?" she thought to herself while eating lunch with Tadase. She still couldn't believe that he was now her boyfriend. It was a dream come true. She had to make sure she thanked Dia later on.

Now it was going home time, Amu decided to look for Ikuto in his class. He was much smarter than her so he was in the top class while Amu in the average. Tadase… in the worst class. (Gomen Tadase-chan ^^)

She waited by the gates for a sign of Ikuto. Everyone was leaving for home. She waited till she was sure there wasn't anyone anymore.

"Where… where is he?" she asked herself. Did she really lose him? Is he gone? Forever? Tears were close but Amu quickly wiped it away. No, she couldn't give up on hope just yet.

A few students passed by, chatting about the popular people in school.

"Well, it's definitely Amu Hinamori." Her name caught Amu's attention.

"Then, Tadase-kun. Ah, they're the power couple." Amu blushed when one of them said that.

"Next is the sexy Ikuto!" and the three girls squealed. Amu sighed in relief. So he was still here. And so she could look for him.

"Did you know, Amu and Ikuto were best friends last time?" a girl said.

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure about why they're no longer friends."

"Huh?" Amu gasped in surprise. No longer friends? Impossible! They were friends and promised to be eternal friends.

"Yeah, I don't see them talking together. Whenever they meet, they just ignore each other." someone said.

Amu hid behind a wall, trying to think properly.

AMU POV

No. No way all this is happening. It's impossible.

I take a deep breath in, then out. That's it. If I want to find out the truth, I'm gonna have to look for him myself.

Don't worry, it's just a stupid rumor. It can't be true. Ikuto promised you, he'd be your best friend forever.

I walked into the school and looked around. Ikuto, Ikuto, Ikuto, I called out mentally.

Everything the girls said made me feel scared. My heart thumped so quickly. It's not true, I told myself but a part of me had a bad feeling about this.

I felt tired now. I've checked around the whole school, but still I couldn't see any Ikuto. Tears were forming in my eyes, but I wasn't sure if it was because of the tiredness or because of what I heard just now.

I was in the garden now. My favourite place in this school. Ikuto and I often hid here for lunch break.

Ikuto.

I was about to leave, but I heard something. Someone was playing the violin, and I could recognize that tune. I ran and followed the melody.

I reached the violinist. I sighed in relief when I saw him. I smiled, the tears slowly disappearing.

Ikuto opened his eyes and then they looked shocked.

"Hi, Ikuto!" I smiled, greeting him. But he didn't reply. He ignored me.

"Ikuto! Hey, Ikuto! Wait up!" I chased after him. He didn't look up. He just continued walking. Finally he stopped. I was about to hug him but the look on his face made me think twice.

"What is it that you want?" He asked, his eyes filled with hostile and anger. My heart thumped. I was scared. Who was this? Where was the Ikuto I knew? Always smiling, with eyes that twinkled every time.

"I-Ikuto, w-why are you looking at me like that?"

He started to walk off. "Wait!' I yelled to stop him. He turned around again, with the same look on his face, except that there was a little annoyed look.

"Didn't you say you don't want anything to do with me anymore?" he asked, his voice was cold and harsh.

What? What is he saying? "What are you talking about, Ikuto? I-I never said anything like that!"

"Yes you did. If you remember properly, you said it yourself. 'I never want to see you or talk to you again! You're no longer my friend!'."

No way. I couldn't have said that.

"Whatever, just leave me alone. Go back to that stupid boyfriend of yours." And this time he turned around for good. He didn't hold me, didn't smile like he normally did, didn't laugh and say, 'Just kidding,' and he didn't play ruffle my hair.

Why? Why? Why?

This question started to spin in my head. Why is he like that?

Then I heard someone calling me. I turned around. It was Tadase-kun.

"Hey, Amu? Are you alright? Did something happen?" he looked at my face. "Are you crying?"

I didn't realize the tears fall on my cheeks. I quickly wipe them off. "Em, no."

He stared at me in confusion then shrugged. "Hey, wanna go have dinner with me? We can get some sushi and…"

I shook my head. "No, sorry. I… I'm not feeling well." It was a half lie. It was true that I wasn't feeling well, but it wasn't because I was sick.

"Oh… oh well, in that case you should go home and take a break." He patted me and planted a kiss on my cheeks. "I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled and kissed me on the lips this time.

My lips tingled with delight. But it lasted for a short while only.

HOME

I laid on my bed. My eyes were bloodshot red. I felt tired. Worn out from the day.

I was still thinking about Ikuto.

Ikuto, no longer my best friend. Ikuto, no longer wants to talk to me. Ikuto, no longer wants to have anything to do with me.

I started to sob. My phone was vibrating on the table. It was Tadase-kun but I was in no mood to talk.

I cried and somehow, I slowly drifted to dreamland.

It was the same dream as yesterday. Orange and sparkles.

I saw Dia.

"Dia! Why? Why did Ikuto treat me like that?" I asked, still crying.

Dia had a frown on her face. "Eh? Really? But I thought you were suppose to be just beautiful and lose someone."

"Huh?" What the hell? She claims to be my guardian and she has no idea about anything.

Then she gave me a cheeky grin. "Erm, well… I don't know how to tell you this, but… Amu-chan, I'm not fully trained yet."

I blinked for a while.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" she rubbed her head and laughed nervously. "I'm just a student and I… well, I think I put the wrong spell for you."

I blinked again. Then I went towards her.

"You! You little idiot! Why the hell didn't you tell me that before? You were suppose to make me beautiful! That's all!"

"Ehe, yeah, but I might have gone too far. Anyway, I think I made you become a brat…"

"Bitch." I corrected her.

"Whatever, anyway, and somehow you got too vain and that's why your attitude's changed."

"So what am I gonna do?" I wailed. I have to get Ikuto back. I have to make him be my best friend again!

"Well, I'll help you. But remember when I said there was a lesson to this?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe… maybe you have to learn it. Try and figure it out and maybe you'll get your way out of all this."

"Okay. But what about Ikuto?" I asked.

She smiled. "Well, we have to start from step 1."

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"Try to show him that you weren't like who you were before this. Make him know that you didn't mean anything you said."

"I didn't say anything before!"

Dia rolled her eyes. "Whatever, but just make him know, you need him back."

Dia disappeared after that.

"But wait! I need to know more!" I called out but she was gone.

My eyes shot open. I was so shocked about everything that happened.

My eyes caught a picture. It was me and Ikuto, when we were in elementary school. I had a happy smile and his arms around me.

"I'll get you back, Ikuto." I said, feeling determined.

I'll get my best friend back.


End file.
